Former Red Sox Ace Makes National League All-Star Team With Braves
Craig Breslow has taken some big swings since becoming the Boston Red Sox’s Chief Baseball Officer in 2023, including trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants and Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves. While the jury is still out on the Devers trade, the Sale move appears to have backfired.
Sale was named to the National League All-Star team on Sunday, marking his ninth career All-Star selection and second straight with the Braves since being traded prior to the 2024 season.
He was traded for young infielder Vaughn Grissom, who has -0.2 WAR in 31 games for the Red Sox and is currently playing at Triple-A Worcester.
After struggling with injuries from 2019 to 2023 with Boston, Sale has re-emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball with Atlanta. He won the NL Cy Young Award last season after going 18-3 with 6.2 WAR and a league-leading 2.38 ERA.
This year’s been more of the same for Sale, who was a bright spot for the underachieving Braves before landing on the injured list in June with a fractured rib. In 15 starts this year, he’s 5-4 with a 2.52 ERA, 2.6 WAR and 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings.
The 36-year-old lefty was recently transferred to the 60-day IL and won’t be able to pitch in the Midsummer Classic, which will take place on July 15 in Atlanta. However, he’s still happy to receive the honor, which he hopes his three kids will remember.
Sale has now made multiple All-Star teams with all three of his clubs. He made five straight American League All-Star teams with the Chicago White Sox from 2012 to 2016, followed by two more with the Red Sox in 2017 and 2018.
The 2018 World Series champ won’t be eligible to return to the Braves until Aug. 19, although they may opt to shut him down if they’re out of contention by that point. They might also look to move him ahead of the July 31 Trade Deadline if they don’t plan to pick up his $18 million team option for next year.